Parkinson's Blog

New research from Northwestern Medicine detects a common, but usually harmless virus in the brains of Parkinson’s patients

Parkinson’s disease often begins asymmetrically, affecting either the right or left side of the body first. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) have demonstrated that this initial side of onset influences the progression of non-motor symptoms.

A safe and affordable treatment to slow the advancement of Parkinson’s dementia has emerged – in the form of a commonly available cough syrup that’s already being studied for its positive effect on other degenerative diseases.

Groundbreaking research by Sydney University found a new brain protein involved in Parkinson’s disease and a way to modify it to stop symptoms.

Ambroxol, long used for coughs in Europe, stabilized symptoms and brain-damage markers in Parkinson’s dementia patients over 12 months, whereas placebo patients worsened. Those with high-risk genes even saw cognitive gains, hinting at real disease-modifying power.

A breakthrough brain scan shows Parkinson’s drugs can misfire in the brain, helping some patients less than others. The fix? Personalized medicine guided by new tech.

Years after pinpointing a faulty protein in the brains of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, researchers have made another breakthrough. The team at the University of Sydney was able to target this SOD1 protein with a drug treatment in mice. They observed a “dramatic” improvement in their motor skills. Now comes the tricky task of figuring out how to target the SOD1 protein safely in humans, paving the way for a potential treatment to slow progression. Guest/s
Professor Kay Double, Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney References
Copper supplementation mitigates Parkinson-like wild-type SOD1 pathology and nigrostriatal degeneration in a novel mouse model

A cancer immunotherapy may slow Parkinson’s disease by blocking the spread of harmful brain proteins, Johns Hopkins researchers found.

A research team at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), working with the Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona, has shown that theatre can improve the emotional well-being of people with Parkinson’s disease.

Although a cough medicine called Ambroxol is approved in Europe for treating respiratory conditions and has a long-standing safety record, including use at high doses and during pregnancy, it is not approved for any use in the United States or Canada.